My little pony tattoo #3 - A permanent home?

[ditavonteesed]

A thread for admiring, chatting about and generally being obsessed with all things tattoo (other chat is also welcome)

[Youvegottobekidding]

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[Youvegottobekidding]

Complete mis-post that was! Must be hot weather!

[ThatIsNachoCheese]

You must be somewhere nicer than me then, thunderstorms here today!

[AmberGreyson]

i have little kitty paws near my ear :)

[Sleepthief]

Sorry to jump in unannounced, but I'm just trying to gauge what aftercare advice everyone follows

[ThatIsNachoCheese]

Hi Sleep, I had a special dressing that I kept on for 4 days then used Lush non self preserving dream cream a couple of times a day.
Did your tattoo artist give you aftercare instructions?

[Sleepthief]

Hi nacho. Yes he did, it's just quite extreme, a pain in the ass and unlike any I've had in the past/read online... Basically I'm looking for justification to ignore have to clingfilm my arm for two days What was your special dressing?

[ditavonteesed]

speical dressing is same theory as cling film for 2 days, people seem to have had a lot of good things to say about this way of healing. I had the special dressing with one of mine and it meant I could sleep the night I had it done. It simply prevents it from drying out and scabbing. It's called dermalise (I think) and is like a burns dressing.
I normally do washing several times a day (every 2 hours for first 24 hours) with unscented antibacterial soap and applying coconut oil then perhaps 3 times a day for a week. The first 2-3 days you want to make sure no plasma or serous fluid stays on the tattoo as this is what your body produces in response to trauma but will cause scabs. After that I use aveeno or lush dream cream or lush elbow grease.
I would follow your tatooists instructions to the letter to be honest they know their work best.

[ThatIsNachoCheese]

Mine was saniderm, I loved it, on for 24 hrs initially, then a wash and cover for another 4 days. Meant I could forget about it and just let it heal.
I agree with Dita, I would follow your artists advice.

[ditavonteesed]

also I wish I had one on now cause my new tattoo is bloody killing me.

[ThatIsNachoCheese]

Oh no, is it really bad? Mine was just itchy, so so bloody itchy!

[Sleepthief]

Of course you're right, it's just pretty grim having your arm covered in sweaty clingfilm in 29 degrees. Unfortunately I can't just forget about it, either, as I've got to change it four times a day and the film keeps slipping down/tearing (I can't fix it on with surgical tape after an allergic reaction last time that left painful welts for weeks after the tattoo had healed!). I was just thinking if most advice was to leave it uncovered apart from aftercare lotion after the first few hours - as it largely seems to be on dr Google - I could justify it to myself Oh well, it'll all be worth it...

[ditavonteesed]

it will be worth it, mine is ok really just very tender, almost as though someone stratched a picture onto my arm with a needle It is affecting my sleep which is making me grumpy. And it was so swollen yesterday, gone down today though, dh's leg is really swollen as well so we are competing in patheticness.
Sleep theif think we need a pic.

[Sleepthief]

The clingfilm ruins it but I'll see of I've got one from my first session - it's a work in progress

[Sleepthief]

It will be a half-sleeve eventually in black and grey, some dot-work and some left as outline. Yesterday's session was to add some Ivy leaves in grey to cover up a classic 90s band

[ditavonteesed]

that is seriously pretty I love it,

[Sleepthief]

Thanks I love it, and it'll be fab when it's finished! Already planning the next one, though and the next one and the next one

[winchesterfan]

I'm in for another tattoo on Friday morning, 2 paw prints with blue and pink watercolour 'splats'. It's going on my wrist....can't wait, it's tattoo number 4!

[NoFucksImAQueen]

I do the "leave it the fuck alone" method for my aftercare. Mainly because I'm lazy but they all heal perfectly.!
It must be a new thing because cling film for 2 days seems like a long time and Iv never had that advice even before dh started tattooing.

[NoFucksImAQueen]

Ooof sleep
How much did under your arm hurt? Iv got to have that done soon and I'm not going to lie I'm nervous

[Sleepthief]

The outline wasn't too bad NoFucks, but I had a load actually just a little bitof shading done the other day and my arm was so bruised and swollen afterwards. My grandma used to say 'you suffer to be beautiful' (not sure she would have applied that to tattoos, but to each their own )

[Gullane]

That is really pretty SleepThief. Did you design it yourself? I'm considering a sleeve to cover a big scar on my upper arm and am feeling a bit overwhelmed by the variety and choice of art. And that's even before starting to research tattoo artists and salons.

How did you make your choice?

[Sleepthief]

Hi Gullane. I did come up with the idea myself - I knew I wanted flowers and chose my favourite flowers from each of my children's birth months (hellebore for January, primrose for Feb, apple blossom for May and Japanese anemone for September), plus some roses and daisies just because I like them. Then my tattooist did a few sketches to get an idea of what I liked and we've taken it from there. It inquire a drawn-out process, because he's very popular and totally booked up, but I've got another session on 5th October, so we're getting there. This thread seems great for getting local recommendations, if you're struggling with choice, though

[Sleepthief]

Oh, and Pinterest!

[Gullane]

Thanks Sleep - and what a lovely way to reflect your ideas in your tattoo. Instagram/ Pinterest are both fabulous and I've started a conversation with a recommended salon which is an hour plus away, where one of the artists has agreed to work on a some ideas. Being a bit further, it's harder to pop in and get a dialogue going as he also is popular and booked until late October/ November time to even go through some design ideas. I guess it would be nice to know how other salons operate or talk to other artists too.

Do you or does anyone else on the thread have recommendations in the SE please? I'd look between Birmingham and London along the M40 corridor.

Thank you!!